I have just spent the entire day editing a particularly dire Chinglish article. On the plus side, the topic - China's energy policy - was quite interesting. On the minus side, I had to rewrite it so heavily that it took me nearly twice as long as normal for a piece of this length.
Ah, but there was one further consolation.
I learned something new today; something new, and rather revealing. I learned that amongst the incentives the Chinese government has been offering businesses to meet energy conservation targets is...... exemption from quality inspections.
Now, I don't suppose that China is the only country in the world that offers such a performance-enhancing carrot to its corporations. And I can see that, with highly ethical corporations, being exempted from busy-body external inspections might produce useful cost savings without any necessary decline in safety or standards. But, really, do you think that's likely to be the case in China? Er, NO.
And here's the kicker. This was actually listed among the negative incentives. Such quality inspection exemptions are the norm, and withdrawing this privilege can be used a punishment. Wow!
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